Champagne at its best

Here, in advance of the list of best sparkling buys I’m preparing for 15 Dec, is my account of a recent blind tasting of top quality champagne for British Airways First Class. 

As you can see from the scores below, this is the least painful tasting I do every year for BA. Some wine drinkers may be complaining about the quality of basic champagne – and I certainly think there is many an overpriced grande marque out there, but the good stuff can be devilishly good. Below are my notes on a recent look at the 18 wines that had been submitted...